Big Data roadmap highlights objectives, assets

By Brandon Tensley

Harness big data assets, infrastructure, and increase digital engagement with the right objectives

Big Data strategy is evolving, and Greg Doufas, vice president of data science and audience intelligence at The Globe and Mail, has laid out a roadmap for harnessing Big Data’s power.

How does he think about problems? “I’m not really a data guy,” he told delegates at INMA’s Big Data for Media conference at Google London on Friday, “but a businessman who understands the power of data and how it relates to doing good business.” This means it’s important to understand value and keep it in proportion to the business as a whole.

First, it is critical to start with business objectives. That is, what are a company’s intentions and values? Figuring this out requires being transparent and understanding evolving audience metrics. Businesses should also increase engagement, or optimisation, and figure out how this fits into life-cycle management.

Second, these objectives aren’t important without talent. One of the core competencies is Web or digital analytics, which is focused on tools. The second is data science, which is a discipline that uses exploratory and predictive modeling, machine learning, and data engineering.

Third, data assets are key to the roadmap. Digital logs (traffic, events, etc.), registration/first-party/third-party, and billing (transactional) are a few examples of data sources.

Using the above balanced, clear, and concise plan can help practitioners drive an effective capability within their organisations to acquire an audience, engage and stimulate these people, and retain them over time.

Big Data strategy is evolving. It’s time to embrace it.

About Brandon Tensley

Brandon Tensley is a PhD candidate in politics at the University of Oxford in England and part of the freelance team at INMA’s Big Data for Media Conference.